Customer Reviews

Confessions of an Improper Bride (A Donovan Novel)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

London, England 1828

Serena Donovan made a mistake six years ago that ruined her reputation and left her heartbroken. She gave her heart to Jonathan Dane and paid a very steep price. Now because of that mistake she has had to take on the identity of her dead twin sister. This is the only way she will be able to return to London and save her family from the peril they are facing. But to do what she needs to do she will have to marry a man she doesn't love. And the rest of her life is going to be one continual lie. Serena is going to have to find a way to live with that lie because if she doesn't her family will pay the price.

Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford made the biggest mistake of his life six years ago and turned to drinking, gambling and becoming an incorrigible rake all in the aim of forgetting Serena Donovan. Now he meets Meg the very prim and proper sister of his beloved Serena only to see that Meg is the one woman he has never forgotten, Serena. Now he has the chance to win Serena again and this time he has no intention of losing her. But for him to claim Serena he will have to destroy the lies Serena has so carefully built and all the sacrifices she has made. The first thing Jonathan will have to do though is convince Serena that she can trust him this time around that he will never let her down again. That isn't going to be as easy as he would like but he knows that the only way either of them will have a chance at happiness is for him to prove himself to Serena.

This story is one that will pull on the reader's heartstrings and have them turning the pages just to see if Serena and Jonathan are going to have their happy ending. This one has some very strong secondary characters that really help move the story along and draws the reader into the story and won't let go until the very last page. It also shows the power of love and how sometimes it helps to overcome the things that have gone wrong and even when you think there is no way for things to work out that with a little luck and love things do work out in the end. This is the start of a series that will have the reader eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. This one is worth picking up and reading.

Serena Donovan lost her reputation and her twin sister Meg the last time she encountered London and Jonathan Dane. Jonathan said he loved her but when pushed to acknowledge their relationship after being caught chose to cut her instead. Now Serena posing as her late sister must come back to face the devil himself and make right what went completely wrong last time.

Her mother created a scenario where Serena had died not Meg and pushed Serena to be Meg and go through with a marriage to a titled man. Though Serena is appalled to think she will now be in London pretending to be her sister, assuming the role of a future bride she will do so to preserve her family's good name and ensure her younger sisters have a chance to snare husbands. Serena will make this work or she will die trying.

However, when faced with Jonathan Serena has a hard time keeping up the façade, especially when Jonathan tells her he knows she is Serena not Meg. He admits he was the cruelest of men for what he did to her before but now he is the Sixth Earl of Stratford and he can right the wrongs, bring Serena back into his life, and give her a title as his wife. But can he make up for the lies he has told, clean up the life he has let go to waste, and take Serena away from his best friend the man she is to marry? What a tangled web Jonathan has web all by himself and now he is stuck in it and has no idea how to get out of it.

London is the same headache it was before for Serena but this time she is also trying to keep her sister Phoebe out of trouble, stay away from Jonathan, and pretend to be in love with Will and success is not very achievable. The draw to Jonathan is outweighing her duty to Will and her sister is one hot mess of hormones that no adult knows how to handle.

During this decoy realizes that in some ways, she is the naïve girl that left London in a scandal but a woman who wants to make an adult decision about marriage based on love. She has doubts about Jonathan but the passion that drew them together before is stronger than ever and the lust is as equally out of control. Jonathan promises love and respectability but can Serena believe him and risk everything on his word again?

This new series is fresh, exciting, and quite devious with reputations at stake, subterfuge in place and passion running rampant. I love Jennifer Haymore's books as they always keep you guessing about what is going to happen next and how this will all turn out. You think you know and then she throws you a curve ball you did not see coming.

Confessions of an Improper Bride by Jennifer Haymore
Historical Romance - July 26th, 2011
4 ½ stars

Six years ago, Serena Donovan lost both her reputation and her beloved twin sister, Meg. With their family near financial ruin, Serena is pressured to return to London as Meg. For Meg has a rich fiancée.

Meg was the universally adored twin who was quiet and much loved. By posing as Meg and marrying Meg's intended fiancé, she can chaperon her sister Phoebe as Phoebe looks for a husband, a wealthy one that can preferably support the family. Her plan is going well until Serena comes face to face with the man who ruined her - Jonathan Dane, the new Earl of Stratford. Jonathan mourned the death of Serena, the woman whom he loved and betrayed. When he meets `Meg,' he is convinced that she is Serena, and he will do anything to get her back.

This book was a thrilling and absorbing read. Even though it seemed rushed at the beginning, especially the part when Meg dies, the pace eventually smoothed out after Serena returned to London with Phoebe. I really enjoyed reading the interactions between Serena and Jonathan. The question of will he or won't he find out the truth kept me on the edge of my seat. Serena is mature and yet passionate; she has to learnt how to temper her reckless side the difficult way. Because of her past, you do sympathize with her. Jonathan is also another fascinating character. The very fact that he betrayed Serena made him a flawed and refreshing hero. He truly regrets his actions and made me feel for him.

Touching and exciting, this is an engrossing read. I personally enjoyed this novel more than the author's previous book.

Reviewed by Pauline from the Bookaholics Romance Club

What a surprising gem this book turned out to be. It wrapped me up from the very beginning and I didn't want to put it down until it was over.

At just 18, Serena Donovan fell in love during her first season in London. But Jonathan was above her station. When the two of them were caught in the midst of a tryst, she was ruined in the eyes of society. And Jonathan turned his back on her. She was forced to set sail for her home in Anguila, with her twin sister Meg at her side. During a storm at sea, Meg went overboard and was never found.

Six years later, Serena discovers that her mother informed London society that it was she, not her sister, who died in that tragic accident. What's more, her mother has been corresponding with Will, the man Meg had been in love with. Will has believed he has been writing to Meg all this time and has now asked her to return to London to wed. Serena's mother insists that Serena go in Meg's place. If she marries Will, she can restore honor to the family and help finance a future for her younger sisters.

When Serena arrives in London, she comes face to face with Jonathan again. He's the only one who seems to recognize her for who she really is. Of course, this takes time to come out in the open. In the interim, Serena does her best to stay away from the man who broke her heart so completely all those years ago. But it's a losing battle.

There was so much raw emotion in this book. Serena's anguish over her past is palpable. She is such a sympathetic character, because you can see how trusting and in love she once was. Her shattered self esteem is crushed even more as she is forced to sublimate herself to take on her "good" sister's persona. But she does it for her family... for her remaining sisters who would have no future otherwise. She struggles with the lies she must tell and fights her own heart to stay away from Jonathan... even after he reveals that he knows who she is. And even though it would be easy to hate Jonathan for all he put Serena through, you can see the depth of his grief at her loss --and the honesty in his love for her now.

It was really very good and makes me want to find more from Jennifer Haymore. Almost 5 stars.

This book was soooooo disappointing to me with a story line so far fetched that I eventually skimmer through the last few chapters.

I absolutely loathed this hero.
He correctly labels himself a 'coward' after dismissing and distroying the reputation of his 'love' and then spends the next six years further debasing himself bedding anything in a skirt. This so called 'hero' didn't discriminate either....bedding everything from virgins, barmaids, hookers and married women...(maybe even trousers)...after all he couldn't keep it in his pants...yet he carried no STD's and never fathered a child. Riiiighttttt!!!! ..and we are expected to find something redeeming in his character. What exactly was there to 'love' about his character? What was there to admire about him? He had no honor or integrity and suffered a severe case of immaturity and selfishness right up to the end of the book.

Honestly.....I am so tired of authors telling the same sad story of the 'hero' drinking, gambling and whoring his way through women....and the fact that the heroine never even questions whether he might carry disease is just way to over the top! I ask you....what woman wants to be with a man that has bedded a dozen women never mind hundreds...(as the authors would have you believe.)

This book is headed for the garbage bin....what a terrible waste of time and money!

Serena Donovan met Jonathan Dane 6 years ago when she first came to London. She was an impoverished Irish peer's daughter and he, the second son of a rich earl. Though they fell instantly in love with each other, his family didn't approve of the match and when they were caught in a compromising position, Jonathan chose to bend to his father's threats and cut her off instead of marrying her. Completely ruined, Serena left London with her twin sister Meg but while on board of the ship that was carrying them to their home in Antigua, Meg fell overboard. Serena's mother, rather than have the disgraced daughter alive, told everyone that it was Serena that died and Meg who lived.

Now, 6 years later, an offer of marriage from Meg's old love and suitor, Captain Langley, has arrived from London. The family's destitute, so Serena is to take Meg's place and marry Captain Langley in Meg's place, in order for her other sisters to later be introduced -and married- into London's high society. For the shake of her sisters Serena agrees with the plan, but finds it too difficult to go through with it when she finds out that Langley's closest friend and best man to be, is no other than Jonathan Dane, the current Earl of Stratford. Jonathan is surprised to find himself attracted to Serena's twin sister, which he had never noticed in the past, and feels ashamed for wanting his best friend's betrothed. But soon, he starts wondering if the woman he's lusting after isn't Serena after all, the woman he loved and thought he'd lost forever. Serena thought she was completely over Jonathan after his horrid betrayal, but being close to him, she can't deny that the old flame is still there. Still, can she forgive how he once betrayed her or forget what she must do for her sisters' shake?

The good:
-The writing was excellent, emotional and moving; the characters fully developed and even though I had trouble forgiving Jonathan in the beginning, I came to deeply sympathize with him, the more truths about the past incident came to light. Haymore obviously knows how to pull the reader's heartstrings and lovers of truly angsty, agonizing reads, will probably appreciate these lovers' stony path to happiness.
-I liked that Serena, realistically, didn't immediately forgive and forget Jonathan's behavior upon seeing him again, but it took her a long time to get over what he did to her.
-I also loved the fact that we 'saw' a big part of the story from Jonathan's eyes, this way actually seeing how sorry and ashamed he trully was for his old rejection. It's another thing to be told he was sorry, and another to actually see it from his POV. Plus, with what he did in the present to help Serena and what extra details we get for what happened 6 years ago, I'm happy to say, I was able to completely get over any grunge I held for him.

The bad:
-There was a secondary romance between Serena's sister Phoebe and a young rake, that was too conveniently similar to what happened to Serena and Jonathan in the past, to be easily swallowed. Besides, the lack of depth in that story arc -and I'm glad the focus stayed on the main couple, mind you- made the young rake's turn of heart, a little too fast and sudden to be believable.
-My other problem were the last 30-40 pages. A lot of things I didn't like occured in them, all in once, thus somewhat diminishing my overall enjoyment of the book.
-For starters, it got too sweet and cheesy. I read more declarations of undying love in 2 pages than I usually read in an entire novel. Of course, since I'm not a fan of sweet romances and lovey-dovey phrases, that which threw me off, is probably a plus for most other romance readers.
-The way that the writer got rid of Serena's/Meg's betrothed was completely unfair to him and utterly unpalatable to my taste.The easy solution, is not in this case, the best one:(
-My last and most important peeve about the ending, is that by the number of times that Serena doubted Jonathan's love for her after their reconcialiation, I have much difficulty in imagining a real HEA for them, where each one is secure in the knowledge of the other's love. The author didn't manage to make me believe that the wound left by Jonathan in Serena's heart was finally healed by the book's end, a fact that made me put the book down with a sense of unfullfillment.

All in all, this was a very nice emotional, even angsty story of love between two people who have never stopped loving eacg other. I'll look forward to read other books by this author but I strongly wish the ending was different; it would then get a 4.5 rating from me. As it is though, I have to take a full star just for the ending, so I'd say it's a 3.5 leaning on 4 stars for me.

Serena Donovan must return to London and pretend to be her twin sister, Meg. Thanks to her mother's quick thinking, word got back to London that it was Serena who had died in the boating accident, not Meg. Serena's mother is determined to make Serena bring honor back to the family. After being away for six years after being embroiled in a scandal, Serena must marry a man she doesn't love in order to secure the future of her younger sisters. When Jonathan Dane spies Meg (Serena) for the first time, he can't help but think of his lost love, Serena. Jonathan feels responsible for her death. Thanks to him shunning her and not standing by her side through the scandal, he pushed Serena to flee London and seek refuge in Antigua which eventually lead to her untimely death. Serena can never forgive Jonathan for not standing by her. When she sees him, her feelings for him have not faded away. Will she be able to keep up the charade as Meg or will Jonathan see through the lies and expose her as a fraud?

I enjoyed reading Confessions of an Improper Bride. Jonathan is truly heartbroken over what happened between him and Serena six years ago. He never had the chance to make amends. After hearing about Serena's death, he went down a path of destruction. When he realizes that "Meg" is his true love, Serena, he is willing to do whatever it takes to prove that he is worthy of his love. Throughout the book, Jonathan redeems himself and does whatever it takes to show that Serena can trust him again. Serena is doubtful that Jonathan is trustworthy. She doesn't want to renege on her engagement and embarrass her family again, but her feelings for Jonathan never went away. She is still attracted to him and never stopped loving him.

The progression of Jonathan and Serena's relationship is slow and gradual. Six years have past; trust has been broken. I like that despite how attracted she is to Jonathan, she doesn't immediately fall into his arms. Thanks to what he did six years ago, her life was forever changed. Those chain of events eventually lead to the death of her sister Meg. Although Jonathan was not directly involved, what he did set in motion what eventually happened in Antigua. Because the relationship build-up was slow and gradual, it did create some slow parts in the plot. The secondary romance in the book involving Serena's sister, Phoebe, and Harper proved to be interesting and added to the overall story.

Jonathan proves to be a worthy hero in this story. His actions to gain back Serena's love and trust are honorable. Serena is truly conflicted about should she do what is right for her or do what she must to help her family. I felt that the resolution with Will was too convenient and pat but when his story came to fruition, it was interesting and provided a surprising twist. He's not the perfect man everyone thought him to be.

If you are a fan of Haymore, then you will definitely enjoy Confessions of an Improper Bride.

Now this is a book worthy of it's luscious characters with all their secrets and baggage on board. What starts out as a major scandal in the Ton leads to emotional pain and suffering so profound that it scars our characters for what seems a lifetime. Can deception bring about a sense of peace and less guilt or will it carve out a new saga that will only intensify what was started so many years ago?

Serena and Meg Donovan are identical twins in London for their first season. The girls mother has sent them to hopefully snatch a rich husband with a magnificent title thus hoping to influence the hubbies into bringing the rest of the family home to London from the West Indies and destitution. Unfortunately the girls are young and even though they have a proper chaperon with their Aunt it's not quite enough to keep them in check.

Jonathan Dane is tall, dark and handsome but quite immature. Second son of an Earl with no hopes of inheriting the title, Jonathan is left to his own devises. Unfortunately for him he gets caught with his hands in the cookie jar so to speak and must publicly cut his conquest or be forever banned from the family and left destitute to find his own way in life as a pauper after having lived the life of Riley with carousing, gambling and drink.

Our story starts out with the girls on their way home to the West Indies disgraced and tossed out by the Ton but if that isn't bad enough there is a terrible accident that will forever scar everyone involved.

Six long years go by before the story picks up again with a much older young lady heading back to London with her sister to live a lie with a deception so cruel that it could permanently cast them out if they are caught. It would also cause severe pain to the man involved and who knows what else may happen if such a dire secret were to become known.

Not long after the return to London do our Ladies meet up with the intended victim but also with another notorious rake by the name of Jonathan Dane that will make the females quiver in fear if he should become to close and discover that which could destroy them.

Will the Ton catch wind of the dirty little secret? Is it true that some things are better left unsaid or will our characters find the courage to tell all even if it kills them?

Jennifer Haymore has given us a wonderful Cinderella story that does have more than it's share of pain but also has more than it's share of passion. A wonderfully paced story that will take you from London to Greta Green and back with a lush amount of sass, finesse and pizazz to keep you well satisfied like a cat in front of a bowl of milk. Just delicious!

Wow! I love historical romances and this one cemented that for sure. Confessions of an Improper Bride is a fast paced emotional ride through the lives of two people who, against all odds, have found love.

Serena Donovan is a women scorned. At a very young age she loved Jonathan Dane and thought he loved her too. Until the day she was caught in a compromising situation with him and he turned his back on her. Her and her family were forced to leave London because of her ruined reputation with the Ton.

Now, six years later, she is back, and has taken the identity of her late twin sister Meg.

Jonathan Dane, now the Earl of Stratford recognizes Serena instantly and isn't going to let her get away a second time. There is only one problem...she is set to marry his friend, Captain Langley, the man Meg was in love with.

This story is amazing! The characters are great and the story line is intriguing. The love triangle keeps you sucked in the whole way through. Meg/Serena's younger sister is a secondary character and has a story all of her own which adds a very refreshing twist to this book. Jonathan and Serena's chemistry is explosive and and the intimacy is touching. I truly felt for each and and every character. The story follows all the proper rules of regency London but it has an edge that makes it very interesting. Ms Haymore's writing style is easy to read and has the perfect combination of dialogue and description to make this a very well rounded book.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good regency period historical romance.

Serena left London scandalized only to return six years later pretending to be her dead twin, Meg. Her younger sister Phoebe is accompanying her. Serena plans to marry Will, the man Meg was in love with. After she has secured her spot in society her younger sisters, who remained behind with her mother in Antigua, will join her. Not only is she concerned about convincing all of London that she is actually Meg, but she is afraid to come face to face with Jonathan (The Earl of Stratford) who seduced her and subsequently shunned her when her reputation was in tatters.

Confessions of an Improper Bride just might be the best historical romance novel I've read in 2011. I was wowed. I was initially concerned about how the twin identity switch storyline would play out. Turns out I had no reason to be. The author handled it perfectly from start to finish. This series debut features such a well crafted story with characters I immediately fell in love with. I adored Serena/Meg and her younger sister Phoebe. Their willingness to risk everything for love was admirable. I also liked that they were more adventurous and outspoken than most female characters you find in historical romance.

Serena is such a well developed character. The author focused quite a bit on the inner turmoil she was experiencing over deceiving Will, as well as her disgust over her ability to simultaneously despise and desire Jonathan. Poor Serena was struggling with some serious guilt. I liked the unconventional love triangle that was happening between Serena, Jonathan, and Will, but couldn't help but feel sorry for Will over the course of the novel. He was such a great catch, but unfortunately the sizzling chemistry between Serena and Jonathan made him seem almost dull. I imagine most men couldn't help but appear dull in the presence of a man like Jonathan. He was the epitome of a reformed rake. Even with his reckless behavior after hearing of Serena's death, I truly hoped they would find a way to achieve their happily ever after. They were without a doubt perfect for each other.

I also enjoyed Phoebe's presence and felt it added something special to the story. I like the direction the author took with Phoebe and her love interest. It definitely helped to shape the outcome of Serena's story. Two swoon worthy romances in one book equaled one very happy reader.

Confessions of an Improper Bride's unique storyline has provided a stellar start to Jennifer Haymore's new series. I can't wait to spend more time with the Donovan sisters in the next installment, Secrets of an Accidental Duchess.